A Timeline of Failure – The Process
The Process was a very ambitious plan set up by the 76ers to purposely be bad in order to get draft picks and then build a great team filled with young talent. They got Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid, but they made too many mistakes that it covered their successes. The Process is almost at a halt now, and here is what happened.
The 76ers were a solid team led by Allen Iverson throughout the 2000s. And they had a solid start to the 2010s as they made the playoffs in 2 straight years, being just one game away from the Conference Finals in 2012.
But starting in the 2012-13 season the Process really started to get under way. That season the 76ers went 34-48 and got the 11th pick. With that pick they chose Michael Carter-Williams, the guy who was good for one game. The highlight of the 2013-14 season was, the first game. MCW had a near quadruple double as he record 22 points, 7 rebounds, 12 assists, and 9 steals. That was the highlight of his career and the 76ers’ season as they went 19-63 that season. This was the first season with Brett Brown as the head coach and Sam Hinke, the creator of the process as the Executive.
With those 19 wins, the 76ers were selecting at the #3 spot in the draft. At the time, guys like Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, Dante Exum, and Joel Embiid were rumored to be going near the top of the draft order. Wiggins and Parker went 1 and 2, giving the 76ers a chance to choose Joel Embiid. In hindsight this was a great pick, as most everybody around this pick didn’t pan out well. Other notable names from this draft are Zach Lavine and Nikola Jokic.
Going into the 2014-15 season, the 76ers continued to try and collect young talent. The 76ers went 18-64 that season, another bad year of hoops for the city of brotherly love. This gave the 76ers another high draft pick. They were selecting 3rd overall in the 2015 NBA Draft. They selected Jahlil Okafor over Kristaps Porzingis. Okafor was good for a year but is now a bust and on the fringe of rotations. This was a mistake and one of the major reasons that the Process failed. They couldn’t draft right.
So going into the 2015-16 season, it was more of the same for the 76ers. That season the 76ers were a horrendous 10-72, one of the worst seasons ever played. But Sam Hinke was fired and the job was taken over by the Colangelo brothers. The creator of the process was out of a job. And that tank job from the 76ers actually landed them the #1 overall pick where they selected Ben Simmons. They selected him over Jaylen Brown and Brandon Ingram. While Simmons is good, it’s unlikely he will be good as he can be as he doesn’t shoot beyond the paint.
So the 76ers had brought in the two pillars for the team, Simmons and Embiid. Both were injury-prone early on in their careers, but they would be the bright spots for the disaster that was the process.
In the 2016-17 season, the 76ers won 18 more games and they won 28 in total, going 28-54. They had the 3rd pick, but decided to go for it all. If they got who they wanted (a bust) they thought that they would become an elite team. They were wrong. They traded with Boston to go up to #1 while giving Boston the #3 pick. This will come in handy later. The 76ers chose Markelle Fultz, and that ended well of course. And the Celtics took Jayson Tatum with the 3rd pick.
Entering the 2017-18 season, the 76ers had some hope. They had Simmons, Embiid, Fultz, Saric, and JJ Redick. Simmons was technically a rookie and he won ROTY. The Process had seemed to have worked as Simmons and Embiid were great together. They went 52-30, and they went to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. They beat the Miami Heat 4-1 in the first round where they faced the Celtics, and Jayson Tatum. Instead of showing Tatum and the young Celtics that they didn’t need to draft him, the Celtics won in an easy 4-1 series victory. A slap in the face to say the least.
But the future was bright. An ascending duo with a nice roster around them. They still needed an actual PG, not Markelle Fultz. They selected SG Landry Shamet in the first round, another excellent shooter for the roster. And the 76ers set off for another conquest to get better. Simmons and Embiid were solid but management decided to make a couple of major changes, for the worst. Elton Brand was the new executive, and he got happy at the wheel. He traded away Shamet and a couple of bench pieces to the Clippers for Tobias Harris. Harris was always a fringe All-Star, a solid scorer. It seemed a good move, but the 76ers really wanted to be agressive.
Over in Minnesota, Jimmy Butler was unhappy. He was likely to be traded. Enter the 76ers. The 76ers traded Saric and Covington, two very important role player to Minnesota for the 4-time All-Star. They now boasted Harris, Simmons, Embiid, and Butler along with JJ Redick. The roster was a lot thinner, but they were more top-heavy and ready for a deep run in the East.
The 76ers went 51-31 and advanced to Game 7 of the 2nd round against Kawhi Leonard and the Raptors. We all know where this story ends. The 76ers lost in heart-breaking fashion as their season was over. But the future was again bright. They had a lot of decisions to do, but surely they couldn’t screw up, right? Wrong.
Harris and Butler were both free agents, both wanting big money. The 76ers wanted to keep both, but Butler said he wasn’t going to resign and he ended up with the Heat in a trade, sending Josh Richardson to the 76ers. The 76ers wanted to keep Harris at least and signed him to a max contract, a little bit of an overpay. But the 76ers weren’t done there. They had some more money because they didn’t retain Butler and settled on big man Al Horford. Horford was great as defending Embiid, and was often his kryptonite. Now they were on the same team. The team was great on paper, but it never really panned out.
Simmons still couldn’t shoot and it made everything weird. Harris couldn’t find his place and Horford seemed to age a lot during the offseason as he was horrible. Embiid again battled injuries and seemed disinterested. Richardson was the Chris Bosh, the guy who got pushed out although he was talented. The 76ers limped into the bubble with a 43-30 record, 6th in the East. Here are where the face slaps continue. Without Ben Simmons, the 76ers faced the Celtics. And they got swept by Jayson Tatum, the guy they could have drafted. Then Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat went to the Finals, another slap in the face.
It showed that the 76ers had made a lot of bad choices. From drafting Okafor and Fultz, to trading for Butler and Harris. Signing Horford and Harris to massive contracts, while letting Jimmy Butler go and watch him compete for a title.
The Process failed and while it is still technically going, it should be stopped. The 3 different 76er executives could never find anything that could work. Tanking didn’t get the 76ers anywhere, as they still blew 2 top-5 picks. The 76ers will be a playoff team, but we all know what will happen next. They will just disappoint. Let this be a lesson to all teams to never tank.
Will Any Other Team Ever Try The Process? Leave A Comment Down Below!
Follow My Instagram To Never Miss A Post: @hoopnotions
